Mr Hawai, for some very strange reason all the pro-Open Bet lobby advocates that the reason why the anti-Open bet lobby wants it to stop is for stake increases. This is utter rubish. Jack Dash in a post a little further up does a calculation that shows how little stakes would go up. The bulk of the income will go towards running the racing product, paying for the upkeep of facilites, totes etc. Who knows, the totes may also start offering free lunches and drinks. Most of the complaints on this site against the tote can be fixed with money. This is the money that is needed for it.
Owners will always grumble about stakes due to the extent that they subsidise the racing product, but I am sure the operators will confirm that there are no owners wanting to jump of a bridge because of low stakes.
Like you, I also do not think that the Open Bet must be taken away from bookmakers, but with the condition that they start paying the exact same "take-outs" to the operators for the upkeep and running of the racing product.
May I aslo ask you what the words "Off the Book" means in bookmaking terms? Could it be a bet that bypasses the system? Would I be right to assume that this will always be a large bet, as it would make no sense to "hide" small bets? Would these bets be common practise? I know the answer. When one reads the posting of a lot of people even on this site you are left with the feeling that bookmakers are ANGELS. They do not drive fancy cars for no reason.
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